1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to medical devices and, more particularly, to apparatus and methods for the reduction and fixation of fractures.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a fracture is repaired, the bone fragments are placed in appropriate alignment in an anatomically correct position (reduction). Following reduction of the fracture, the fracture is then fixated, meaning that the bone fragments are prevented from moving from the reduced placement during the healing process. Various apparatus such as bone plates, bone screws, and rods are used for fixation of bone fragments. Following fixation, the fracture is then allowed to heal. After the fracture has healed, the fixation apparatus may be removed or may be left permanently in the body.
Bone plates, which are typically thin and have a plurality of fastener openings for fastening by various fasteners such as bone screws to the bone surface, are often used in cranial and maxillofacial surgery. For example, the repair of mandibular fractures often involves reduction and fixation by various bone plate systems. The surgeon holds the bone fragments in reduction and then applies a bone plate or bone plate system to the bone surface of the bone fragments to fixate the fracture. Often one or more assistants must hold the bone fragments in reduction while the surgeon fixates the fracture by fastening the bone plate or bone plate system. The bone plate may provide sufficient structural support across the fracture so that, when a bone plate or bone plate system is used to fixate a mandibular fracture, the patient may be able to resume some normal eating requiring mastication following the surgery.
Bones, especially in the maxillofacilial region, may have curved or irregular surfaces. The bone plate must be shaped to fit the bone in the region of the fracture prior to attachment. The shaping and fitting process, which generally involves trial and error, is often conducted in the operating theater by the surgeons, and can be time consuming, thereby lengthening the time the patient spends under anesthesia. Sometimes, in order to reduce the patient's time in surgery, the surgeon may shape the bone plate by bending the bone plate to conform to a cadaver specimen prior to conducting the surgical procedure. The hope is that the shape of the bone in the cadaver specimen will approximate the shape of the corresponding fractured bone in the patient, so that only minor adjustments to the shape of the bone plate will be required during surgery and the duration of the surgery will be lessened. This approach is not always satisfactory.
Thus, it is seen that currently available apparatus for fracture fixation have a variety of shortcomings. Therefore, a need exists for an apparatus that gives the support to the fracture of a bone plate and that has the ability to fixate the range of fractures that may be fixated by a bone plate, while being readily conformable to an irregular or curved bone surface.